A large crowd of students, parents and others dressed in red and black attended a “pep rally” at Ravenwood High School Thursday. Their intent: to get the attention of Williamson County Schools’ board members as they arrived for a 5 p.m. public information meeting to discuss the proposed rezoning seven subdivisions and the Alara apartment communities from RHS to Centennial High.

The crowd was so intent on the line of TV cameras filming the action they missed several school board members who walked right by them and into the school cafeteria.

It didn’t take long once the two-hour meeting got started, however, for a majority of the school board and the handful of Central Office staff members present to be surrounded by citizens anxious to learn more about the rezoning plan and to voice their opinions.

Emotions were high but those attending were civil as small groups huddled around the officials to ask questions and hear answers, though if was obvious those answers weren't always the ones the crowd was looking for. By 7 p.m., it was apparent more questions had been raised than answered for all of those concerned with the matter at hand.

An empty nester, Ashton Park homeowner Stan Cooper attended because he is concerned about his property value. Karen and Joe Ruttman who live in Avalon attended for the same reason.

“The (homeowners associations) have studied all kinds of statistics,” Cooper said, and all of those statistics point to a lowering of home values in the affected areas.

“I could have predicted that” without seeing any of the statistics, he noted.

The Ruttmans moved to Avalon two years ago from Mt. Juliet. Joe Ruttman said they studied the area carefully before deciding where to buy a new home.

“When you buy property, that’s one of the many things you consider. The school district is very important. We researched it and learned that this was the best district,” he said referring to the Ravenwood school zone.

Chris Casey, whose children are ages 12 and 8, bought a home in The Enclave four years ago. Among his many concerns about the rezoning proposal are home values. He said local real estate professionals are estimating a drop of $12 per square foot in the affected area if the rezoning is passed.

“I already have a house that’s worth less today than what I paid for it,” he said. If the estimates prove true, he said that would translate into a $60,000 drop in his home’s value.

Next to property values, the splitting of feeder schools was a concern voiced by many. Williamson County Schools has made it a priority to keep students progressing together from elementary to middle to high school. As the new plan is drawn, a small percentage of students graduating from Woodland Middle would head to Centennial while the majority would go to Ravenwood.

Denise Vogal has four children. Her two oldest attend Ravenwood while her younger sons are in fifth and sixth grade.

“My boys all play football. For the younger ones, that’s all they talk about -- ‘When I get to Ravenwood...,’” she said. “We have black and red Ravenwood stuff all over our house.” She loves the high school and wants her younger children to have the same opportunity to attend Ravenwood as her older children -- who would be grandfathered in -- do.

Woodland sixth grader Katherine David attended the meeting with her dad, Gerald Swetman. They live in The Village of Cool Springs.

On her Community Input form that all attendees were given, Katherine wrote that Ravenwood has higher test scores, is closer to her house and that almost all of her friends from Woodland would be going to Ravenwood.

Swetman said home value is his No. 1 concern but friends for Katherine come in a close second. He mentioned that she “lost all of her friends at Kenrose” when they were previously rezoned. Now he’s concerned it will happen again.

Amy Sanford, who has a sixth grader at Woodland and lives in The Meadows, also worries about socialization. She said if all of Woodland were rezoned to Centennial she would feel better about it.

Sanford’s view was shared by Walt Gordon, who lives in The Woods. “Split feeders cause the pain,” he said. “If you were moving all of Woodland it’s not an issue.”

Several in the small circle surrounding Fourth District board member Tim McLaughlin nodded in disagreement but all were respectful of others’ opinions.

Regardless, Gordon added, “these are all great schools, and we are very privileged to be in Williamson County Schools.”

The crowd surrounding District 6 board member Terry Leve wanted answers about the proposal’s timing and the expected Nov. 30 vote on the issue.

Leve said the Ravenwood plan came to the board along with plans to rezone several other schools in the county. The difference, he said, was that the other plans were expected. He shared he, too, was concerned about the timing but welcomed the opportunity to hear from so many people Thursday night.

“In all honesty, it’s exciting to see this many people here. … Word’s getting out and people are excited about being able to share their input,” he said. He told those listening he felt the board had three options on Nov. 30 – “the choices are pass, fail, put off.”

James Bond, the District 12 school board representative, explained to those surrounding his table that the Central Office, and then the board, don’t really know what attendance will be at a certain school until it opens in August.